Copernicus (lunar crater)

This article is about the crater on the Moon. For the crater on Mars, see Copernicus (Martian crater).
Copernicus
Mosaic of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images (rotate display if a crater illusion is seen due to the atypical position of the light source).
Coordinates9°37′N 20°05′W / 9.62°N 20.08°W / 9.62; -20.08
Diameter93 km
Depth3.8 km
Colongitude20° at sunrise
EponymNicolaus Copernicus

Copernicus is a lunar impact crater located in eastern Oceanus Procellarum. It was named after the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.[1] It typifies craters that formed during the Copernican period in that it has a prominent ray system. It may have been created by debris from the breakup of the parent body of asteroid 495 Eulalia 800 million years ago.[2]

  1. ^ "Copernicus (lunar crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ^ Terada, K., Morota, T. & Kato, M. Asteroid shower on the Earth-Moon system immediately before the Cryogenian period revealed by KAGUYA. Nature Communications 11, 3453 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17115-6